Acadia Parish, Louisiana
by Carl A. Brasseaux
Acadia
Parish, Louisiana, encompasses 655.3 square miles. Located in the heart
of southwestern Louisiana's prairie country, Acadia Parish has traditionally
been the center of the state's important rice industry. Rice is the
staple of the south Louisiana diet, and it is also an important regional
export.
Acadia Parish is also home to an important aquaculture industry. Crawfish, grown in rice fields, constitute an important local food item, and the crustaceans are exported internationally.
The northeastern
portion of Acadia Parish was initially settled by Acadian
exiles in the mid-1770s. The Acadian
pioneers were joined in later years by Anglo-Americans,
free persons of color, African-American
slaves, Germans, Jews, Lebanese Christians, and transplanted Midwesterners.
Acadia Parish is the home of the Crowley Rice Festival, two major rural
Mardi Gras celebrations (Courir de Mardi Gras), and a Catholic
religious shrine in the rural hamlet of Richard.
Acadia Parish A
(Images of Acadia Parish)
COURIR DE
MARDI GRAS
Church
Point
Tee Mamou
Gerald
Frugé,
Capitaine
The Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism
Document last
revised March 31, 2004 3:47 PM CST.
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